This was our choice. We have been married 21 years. Our younger years were spent raising 3 kids while we both worked full time and I paid of my degree loan. I am not built to be a stay-at-home mom. My husband, on the other hand, was great with the kids and took care of the cooking and homework checking when I was busy studying myself. He fully supported my desire to finish my degree.
Cut to 15 years later. My career has taken off, I’m making a comfortable six-figure salary, but at my level, I find myself working 60 hours a week. When I’m not working, I don’t want to take care of household chores, run errands, or handle personal responsibilities. I want to spend time with my husband, family, and friends.
He makes that happen for me. By agreeing to be a stay-at-home husband, taking care of the housework, cooking meals, caring for our dogs and our youngest (19-year-old student), and generally making it easier for me to balance work and home life. He is happy. I am happy.
So, it really frosts my cookies when people give him a hard time for having a “sugar-mama”, or worse, insinuate that he is less of a man because HE isn’t financially supporting his family.
He lets it roll off his shoulders, but I just fume inside when I get wind of it. He is the STRONGEST man I know and supports us in all of the ways that we could ever need or want.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!
And, I just wanted to make sure everyone is clear that our children are now grown. Only one still lives at home, but he is quite independent. For you SAHD’s that are doing this with young children – you are the true heroes!
The naysayers tend to be the older generation… and we’d rather just let their little comments go without a response to keep peace in the extended family. We don’t feel the need to try and enlighten them. It doesn’t need to work for them… it only needs to work for us.